Rating: 
Summary: After Sorrow Comes Joy
Review: A clearly spelled out remembrance of what it's like to answer in the affirmative the words of St. Jude, "better to light one candle than to curse the darkness," despite bottom of the barrel, my-sack-is-full frustration, fatigue & discouragement. The often disheartening work of rescuing children, named & nameless, all innocent, from the ravages of civil strife.... saving them for their futures, whatever & wherever that may be. A story over flowing with hope - disguised as fearful waiting, weariness, heart-breaking anguish. The first person singular recollection of the frustration of working against the stream of the common interests in a time & place of civil war. Facing uncaring beaurocracies & self-serving individuals that even in peace can be overwhelming this story of Cherie's early life & life work affords a glimpse into the process of a woman wakening to her potential and her destiny. The inner resistance and unpleasant decisions one encounters when faced with life changing decisions are glimpsed, quickening to her mission of hope. Seeking a balance between obligations to herself, her family and the small, forgotten & shunned members of the family of Humanity in the midst of war, her story gives bone & muscle to some of our own longing.
Rating:
Summary: After Sorrow Comes Joy
Review: A clearly spelled out remembrance of what it's like to answer in the affirmative the words of St. Jude, "better to light one candle than to curse the darkness," despite bottom of the barrel, my-sack-is-full frustration, fatigue & discouragement. The often disheartening work of rescuing children, named & nameless, all innocent, from the ravages of civil strife.... saving them for their futures, whatever & wherever that may be. A story over flowing with hope - disguised as fearful waiting, weariness, heart-breaking anguish. The first person singular recollection of the frustration of working against the stream of the common interests in a time & place of civil war. Facing uncaring beaurocracies & self-serving individuals that even in peace can be overwhelming this story of Cherie's early life & life work affords a glimpse into the process of a woman wakening to her potential and her destiny. The inner resistance and unpleasant decisions one encounters when faced with life changing decisions are glimpsed, quickening to her mission of hope. Seeking a balance between obligations to herself, her family and the small, forgotten & shunned members of the family of Humanity in the midst of war, her story gives bone & muscle to some of our own longing.
Rating:
Summary: Adopted Vietnamese war orphan adult reviews book
Review: Adopted Vietnamese International (AVI) is an organisation for individuals adopted as war babies in the 70s and the generations that followed. Books like Cherie Clarks' are the closest thing we have to knowing what went on during our evacuation, why westerners thought it was best and who they were. For some of us, the Operation Babylift workers are the closest family we have outside our adoptive parents and the biological family we have or desperately wish to meet. My mother saw it and actually took my copy cause she couldn't put it down! It is of interest to anyone interested in foreign adoption though,because it is a complex issue affecting many (parents/adoptees/social workers/vietnam veterans/nurses at the war/vietnamese/viet kieu/academics/jouralists/enquiring minds).The added bonus of such reading is that Cherie Clark still works in Vietnam assisting the homeless children of today and her ongoing committment to her conscience is an example of the individual helping many. Your book purchase is another act in such well needed areas of social conscience and practical action.
Rating:
Summary: Adopted Vietnamese war orphan adult reviews book
Review: After Sorrow Comes Joy explores the innocent victims of any war since time immemorial . . . the children. Cherie Clark who founded International Mission of Hope learned this lesson the hard way as she and her friends first began by trying to airlift hundred and even thousands of children out of Viet Nam in the days just preceeding the end of the Viet Nam conflict. She and her family risked their lives and their freedom to see that the real victims of war escaped to another land that was not prepared or willing to accept them unconditionally. Many of the children were the result of unions between American soldiers and the local women. Despised by their own people, these children were outcasts in the social structure of Viet Nam. America was not open to accepting or supporting these children of often casual liasions. You see the creation of orphanges and feeding centers that provided for the childrens most basic needs and dramatically led to frantic efforts to save these same children in the last days of the war. Cherie Clark is a remarkable woman who today assists hundreds of people each year with international adoption. Her courage and commitment to each and every child is spectacular to behold as this story unfolds. After Sorrow Comes Joy poses some of the most difficult of all questions about the ruins of war and what our obligation as human beings is to those left behind.
Rating:
Summary: The Innocents of any War
Review: After Sorrow Comes Joy explores the innocent victims of any war since time immemorial . . . the children. Cherie Clark who founded International Mission of Hope learned this lesson the hard way as she and her friends first began by trying to airlift hundred and even thousands of children out of Viet Nam in the days just preceeding the end of the Viet Nam conflict. She and her family risked their lives and their freedom to see that the real victims of war escaped to another land that was not prepared or willing to accept them unconditionally. Many of the children were the result of unions between American soldiers and the local women. Despised by their own people, these children were outcasts in the social structure of Viet Nam. America was not open to accepting or supporting these children of often casual liasions. You see the creation of orphanges and feeding centers that provided for the childrens most basic needs and dramatically led to frantic efforts to save these same children in the last days of the war. Cherie Clark is a remarkable woman who today assists hundreds of people each year with international adoption. Her courage and commitment to each and every child is spectacular to behold as this story unfolds. After Sorrow Comes Joy poses some of the most difficult of all questions about the ruins of war and what our obligation as human beings is to those left behind.
Rating:
Summary: An incredible story of hope in the midst of war
Review: After Sorrow Comes Joy is the incredible story of a woman who discovered her inner strength in war-torn Vietnam and directed that strength towards a resolute purpose: helping the smallest victims of the war. Facing hurdles and obstacles that would cause most people to quit and return home, Cherie Clark refused to give up hope for the children that had been entrusted to her care. I found the account of events leading up to the fall of Saigon impossible to put down once I started reading. Cherie describes her experience in such a way that I feel as though I lived through it all with her. My emotions ran the gamut from despair to hope, anger to determination, exhaustion to joy. And in all cases there was an overwhelming awe that Cherie was able to stay so focused on her one purpose of saving children - and through that find peace. I found myself sitting quietly as I finished reading and reflecting on the glimmers of hope from people like Cherie Clark that shine through the tragic consequences of war. This book was a total sensory experience and I'm anxiously awaiting the next two books in the trilogy!
Rating:
Summary: Riveting!
Review: After Sorrow Comes Joy is the riveting autobiographical story of Cherie Clark's entry into the world of international adoption. It culminates in her dramatic, humanitarian efforts to aid the babies and children left disolute by the aftermath of the Vietnamese American War. Inspired by her own adoptions and a meeting with Mother Teresa in India, Cherie responded to the call of her heart to journey to Vietnam where she founded the International Mission of Hope. After Sorrow Comes Joy documents the story of how Cherie found a home in Vietnam caring for the sick and abandoned babies and children trapped in a frightened and poor war-torn country. Following the end of the Vietnamese-American war, Vietnam was still torn in two by fighting between the North and South Vietnamese armies. Americans, Europeans and thousands of Vietnamese people were rapidly fleeing the country as city after city fell to Communist rule. This stirring account describes how Cherie Clark cared for the babies and children of Vietnam during this period of chaos, uniting them with families and medical care and food that they needed to survive. It is also an account of bureaucracy gone amoke. Normal channels failed as families and even basic government services were caught in the a war crashing down upon them. During this upheaval the heroism of the Vietnamese and Americans who cared for the orphans and abandoned children is heart wrenching. After Sorrow Comes Joy brings this tulmultuous time back to life with clarity and intimacy. Readers will find themselves captivated by many of the scenes in this book - including Cherie Clark's heartfelt return to Vietnam 20 years after the war, her children's escape from a collapsing Vietnam, her first visits to the orphanages that many continue to adopt from today, and several kidnapping attempts including that of her own daughter. After Sorrow Comes Joy is informative and engrossing on many levels. It is an historical account of the beginning of adoption in Vietnam. It is a personal account of a family's growth through adoption. It is a stirring documentary of a period of history that for years has remained best forgotten, but which still startles in its immediacy. Hundreds of pictures flesh out the dramatic stories. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of Vietnam, in the antecedents of Vietnamese adoption or in the International Mission of Hope. Rarely do adoptive parents get such a personal glimpse into the lives of those who will be assisting them as they find their own forever families.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting!
Review: After Sorrow Comes Joy is the riveting autobiographical story of Cherie Clark's entry into the world of international adoption. It culminates in her dramatic, humanitarian efforts to aid the babies and children left disolute by the aftermath of the Vietnamese American War. Inspired by her own adoptions and a meeting with Mother Teresa in India, Cherie responded to the call of her heart to journey to Vietnam where she founded the International Mission of Hope. After Sorrow Comes Joy documents the story of how Cherie found a home in Vietnam caring for the sick and abandoned babies and children trapped in a frightened and poor war-torn country. Following the end of the Vietnamese-American war, Vietnam was still torn in two by fighting between the North and South Vietnamese armies. Americans, Europeans and thousands of Vietnamese people were rapidly fleeing the country as city after city fell to Communist rule. This stirring account describes how Cherie Clark cared for the babies and children of Vietnam during this period of chaos, uniting them with families and medical care and food that they needed to survive. It is also an account of bureaucracy gone amoke. Normal channels failed as families and even basic government services were caught in the a war crashing down upon them. During this upheaval the heroism of the Vietnamese and Americans who cared for the orphans and abandoned children is heart wrenching. After Sorrow Comes Joy brings this tulmultuous time back to life with clarity and intimacy. Readers will find themselves captivated by many of the scenes in this book - including Cherie Clark's heartfelt return to Vietnam 20 years after the war, her children's escape from a collapsing Vietnam, her first visits to the orphanages that many continue to adopt from today, and several kidnapping attempts including that of her own daughter. After Sorrow Comes Joy is informative and engrossing on many levels. It is an historical account of the beginning of adoption in Vietnam. It is a personal account of a family's growth through adoption. It is a stirring documentary of a period of history that for years has remained best forgotten, but which still startles in its immediacy. Hundreds of pictures flesh out the dramatic stories. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of Vietnam, in the antecedents of Vietnamese adoption or in the International Mission of Hope. Rarely do adoptive parents get such a personal glimpse into the lives of those who will be assisting them as they find their own forever families.
Rating:
Summary: required reading
Review: AFTER SORROW COMES JOY should be required reading for all adoptive children and their families. Like the map of a family tree, this is where our children's history starts. Every adopted child deserves and needs to know where his story begins. For those adopted from Viet Nam and India this is it. But After Sorrow Comes Joy would be enjoyed by anyone who likes an engrossing tale. It's a tale filled with love and disgust, heroes and villains, sorrow and joy. The message is much more than "just another adoption or social workers memoir." It's also a lesson in the story of mankind and the parts played by every day heroes in the making of history. After Sorrow Comes Joy is one of the finest books I've read and it's the gift my family and friends will be receiving. Be sure and purchase it today. Susan Moir /Mother of 3 children adopted from IMH India
Rating:
Summary: required reading
Review: AFTER SORROW COMES JOY should be required reading for all adoptive children and their families. Like the map of a family tree, this is where our children's history starts. Every adopted child deserves and needs to know where his story begins. For those adopted from Viet Nam and India this is it. But After Sorrow Comes Joy would be enjoyed by anyone who likes an engrossing tale. It's a tale filled with love and disgust, heroes and villains, sorrow and joy. The message is much more than "just another adoption or social workers memoir." It's also a lesson in the story of mankind and the parts played by every day heroes in the making of history. After Sorrow Comes Joy is one of the finest books I've read and it's the gift my family and friends will be receiving. Be sure and purchase it today. Susan Moir /Mother of 3 children adopted from IMH India
| 
